i work as an assistant at an activity center for adults with intellectual disabilities. yesterday i was working with a young man, we can call him mikey though that's not his name. he easily gets into worry tracks, which may lead to extreme anxiety attacks where he hurts himself and others if not stopped, so all the time i had to distract him from his main worry about some work related issues. we sat down to paint a bit and when he started talking nervously about work, the only thing i could think of was to ask for help with my picture. i said i had no idea how to draw a shark and he became very serious and very concentrated and all worry left. he drew me a "really big and scary, you know" shark and explained to me exactly how to do it as he did each detail. he wouldn't part with his own wonderful picture, but i made this faithful copy and he approved it . cool, isn't it? i just love the teeth that were so important to sharkiness that they had to be drawn even if the shark's mouth was closed, and the gills that he liked so much he kept on drawing them along the full length of the shark.

Your story, and Mikey's artwork, brightened my day. Thanks for sharing.

That is a great story! I'm proud of both of you

That's a truly inspiring story.I am very happy you were there in his time of need.
Tell him i said his Octopus is outstanding too, and i love the way he spelled out the word help as if it were being said under water.
That shark is indeed scary.

saulgoode: i'm glad to hear that brightened your day - it's a bit hard to pass this on to mikey since he can't take in too much "unnecessary" info, but i think he'll understand if i say my friends liked his shark.

odin: thank you! with this guy you're always holding your breath a bit because he so easily flips, so i'm actually proud of us both myself.

rod: thank you! like i said before it's hard to pass things on to mikey, but if i say it the right way he'll probably understand and be very proud to hear it! i'm the one responsible for the shout of help, though. my handwriting simply isn't my best asset !

Aww, Nice drawing, and sweet story!

mokonafan: thank you!

Thank you for the picture and the fun story. How nice of you to share.

O: thank you!

Nicely done. The octopus looks terrified!

man rude enough to use the c-word surrepetitiously: well, wouldn't you look terrified if you met a big scary shark ?

Thats a great story An Mal...its a brave person who can even work with people like that. My husband and I had an acquired head injury person living with us for 39 years...(his daughter from previous marriage)...she was as moody as heck...thankfully she finally decided she could go live with her poor sister now...God bless her sister who manages her now. One just never knew what the mood was going to be for the day, every day.

I'd be terrified if I met you!

i can well imagine. i'm actually even scarier than i look .

akky: thank you! i perfectly understand you and your husband had a tough time while she was living with you - i have sometimes worked for shorter periods in group homes for the same target group as the activity center, and i really don't like it because so many people are far easier to deal with when they're on their best behaviour for work than when they are relaxing at home.